[samhack]

This is my first computer build. I'm looking mostly for good gaming capability (L4D, Fallout 3), however I'm also on a budget of $850, give or take a little bit. I've been working on a custom build on www.ecollegepc.com, however this being my first build, I'm not all too confident if the parts I've chosen are all compatible. All I really did was make minor tweaks to the gaming computer that ecollegepc has up on their homepage right now. My main concerns are whether a 500w power supply is enough and whether my graphics card will be good enough. I wanna emphasize that computer building is kind of foreign to me so I apologize in advance if the info I provide is too general or incorrect in some way. Any help and/or suggestions would be much appreciated.

CPU 3.0 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 6MB Cache FSB 1333

Heatsink/Fan Stock Intel LGA775 Heatsink and Fan

Motherboards ASUS P5QL Pro (Intel P43, PCIEx, 8-Channel Audio, LAN, 4xSATA2, 4xDDR2, 1333FSB

Memory 4GB (2GBx2) PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz Memory Lifetime Warranty

Hard Drive 500 GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA300

2nd Hard Drive None

CD / DVD / CDRW 1 22X LG Dual Layer DVD+/-RW/CDRW w/Nero

CD / DVD / CDRW 2 None

Video Card 512MB nVidia GeForce 9600GT GDDR3 PCI Express DVI/Tvout

Operating System[/b] Vista 64-bit

Case Foxconn Black FX-TS001A (3 5.25, 5 3.5 bays) 2 Fans, Front Audio/USB

Power Supply 500 watt

Networking Onboard LAN included

Wireless Networking None

Sound Card onboard included

This configuration comes out to about $750 including shipping so I have a little room to work with. Any suggestions would be great. thanks

Edited by samhack, 02 April 2009 - 03:45 PM.

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Hi samhack, welcome to Geeks To Go!

You picked some nice parts there however I also would like to know some of the parts' brand names. I have a few questions:

• Will you be overclocking this system?
• What's the size of your monitor?
• Will you be purchasing all these parts from that site or would you be fine purchasing it somewhere else like maybe Newegg or any other e-tailer?

500W power supply for a 9600GT video card should be sufficient however there are still other factors to be considered like the amps in the +12V rail and also the brand name. You need to get a power supply with good quality, we mostly recommend ones from Corsair, Seasonic, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling, Antec, etc.

Kamille

Edited by kamille316, 02 April 2009 - 09:31 AM.

[kamille316]

Hi samhack, welcome to Geeks To Go!

You picked some nice parts there however I also would like to know some of the parts' brand names. I have a few questions:

• Will you be overclocking this system?
• What's the size of your monitor?
• Will you be purchasing all these parts from that site or would you be fine purchasing it somewhere else like maybe Newegg or any other e-tailer?

500W power supply for a 9600GT video card should be sufficient however there are still other factors to be considered like the amps in the +12V rail and also the brand name. You need to get a power supply with good quality, we mostly recommend ones from Corsair, Seasonic, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling, Antec, etc.

Kamille

Edited by kamille316, 02 April 2009 - 09:31 AM.

[samhack]

thanks for the response kamille,

I wasn't planning on overclocking just because of my unfamiliarity with the process. I'm hoping to use my westinghouse hdtv (still not quite 100% sure how computer-t.v. connection works). I'd like to purchase all parts from ecollegepc because they'll assemble the computer for me, however if need be, especially if it means spending less money, I'd be willing to look at other sites.

The 500W power supply i have selected right now doesn't have a brand name listed, but for $39 more, I can get an Nspire 500W power supply. For $59 more, an Antec 500W, or $69 more for an OCZ 600W. Do you think its worth the extra cash for a brand name product, and if I'm going to upgrade my power supply should I just go for the OCZ 600W, or is 600W unnecessary for my current build?

Also, do you think the graphics card I've chosen will be capable of running a game like fallout 3?

thanks again,
sam

Edited by samhack, 02 April 2009 - 03:50 PM.

[kamille316]

Hi samhack,

Here's my recommendation:

3.0Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 6MB Cache FSB 1333
Stock Intel LGA775 Heatsink and Fan
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L (Intel P43, PCIEx, 8-Channel Audio, LAN, 4xSATA2, 4xDDR2, 1333FSB) (or you can select the same motherboard you selected before but total will be higher)
4GB (2GBx2) Corsair XMS2 PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz Memory Lifetime Warranty
500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA300
22X LG Dual Layer DVD+/-RW/CDRW w/Nero
1GB nVidia GeForce 9800GTX+ GDDR3 PCI Express DVI/Tvout (this one will benefit you more because you're using an HDTV, bigger resolution)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1
Foxconn Black FX-TS001A (3 5.25, 5 3.5 bays) 2 Fans, Front Audio/USB (I was leaning more towards the Antec 300 but we're going over your budget)
650watt Antec EarthWatts EA650 (Its not the best one on the list, I would've opt for Corsair but its out of your budget. It is however a good power supply)
Onboard LAN included
Onboard Sound included
Standard 1 year parts and labor

Total with shipping is $852

Hope that helps.
Kamille

[samhack]

i really appreciate the help kamille, that build looks good

thanks,
sam

Edited by samhack, 02 April 2009 - 04:07 PM.

[samhack]

I'm happy with this build but was just wondering, what should I be looking for in a good motherboard. I've been looking at a lot of motherboards and I usually can't tell what makes one better than another. Sorry if this is a dumb question.

Thanks in advance, sam

[kamille316]

Hi Sam,

You should look at the specification and see what features it has. The more features it has, the more expensive it is.

Let's see here, take a look at GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L specification:
Model
Brand: GIGABYTE
Model: GA-EP43-DS3L

Supported CPU
CPU Socket Type: LGA 775
CPU Type: Quad-core / Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Duo / Pentium
FSB: 1600(O.C)/1333MHz

Chipsets
North Bridge: Intel P43
South Bridge: Intel ICH10

Memory
Number of Memory Slots: 4×240pin
Memory Standard: DDR2 1200(O.C) / 1066
Maximum Memory Supported: 8GB
Channel Supported: Dual Channel

Expansion Slots
PCI Express 2.0 x16: 1
PCI Express x1: 4
PCI Slots: 2

Storage Devices
PATA: 1 x ATA100 2 Dev. Max
SATA 3Gb/s: 6

Onboard Video
Onboard Video Chipset - None

Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset - Realtek ALC888
Audio Channels - 8 Channels

Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset - Realtek 8111C
Max LAN Speed - 10/100/1000Mbps

Rear Panel Ports
PS/2 - 2
USB - 8 x USB 2.0
S/PDIF Out - 1 x Optical, 1 x Coaxial
Audio Ports - 6 Ports

Onboard USB
Onboard USB - 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers

Physical Spec
Form Factor - ATX
Power Pin - 24 Pin

The ones in black are what most people look at.
Each motherboard models are different in what they can offer, for example some motherboards only has 2 DDR2 channel, some can only support up to 4GB of RAM. Some offers 1, 2 or 3 PCI-Express slots.

If you want to know anything specific, you can google these features and it should give you a clear idea what they mean. If you need some help or you don't understand something, feel free to ask.

Kamille